Pokémon: Marcel Parker's Adventures in Sinnoh
by Criminal Scrub
Summary: Marcel Parker, a fifteen year old boy from Unova, is finally thrust into the training world. However, it's not how he imagined it. Disobedient pokémon, extremely specific evolutions, and a new threat looming over Sinnoh. Friendships will be forged and broken, and tears will be shed, both happy and sad. But in the end, it's all just a part of the pokemon training experience, right?
1. Blank Slate

For a lot of kids, stepping out into the big open world full of adventure with a pokémon companion at your side is a relatively simple process. The kid becomes of age, the legal guardian signs a few papers, a starter pokémon is chosen (assuming the law allows it), and the kid is now off on a journey to either become the best battler, enter contests, or whatever they decide to do. I, however, was not as fortunate. I was blessed with the worst luck in the world. Everything that could have happened to halt my progress in becoming a pokémon trainer, happened.

I've lived in Unova all my life, more specifically Virbank City. Despite the flaws outsiders would point out about it, such as smog and pollution, it's what I called home, and I loved it. The year was 2011. I was eleven- almost twelve years old, and I had just finished up my trainer courses in school. After a few permission papers were signed, I could finally be eligible to become an officially licensed pokémon trainer. However, 2011 was also the year Team Plasma rose. Or rather, when they became a serious threat. What most non-Unovans don't know is that Team Plasma was an organization a few years prior, starting out as simple protestors, expressing their views on pokémon liberation. Nobody payed them much mind however. I suppose in order to grab the media's attention, they resorted to forcefully stealing pokémon, and committed what people would consider acts of terrorism.

It also grabbed the attention of my parents.

My mom, who was already hesitant on letting me become a pokémon trainer, immediately withdrew her decision. My dad, while a little reluctant to follow, was ultimately forced to. Like any kid who was just told they couldn't become a trainer, I was very angry, however after calming down I realized it was to my benefit. I didn't want to be off on my training adventure only to be ambushed by some Plasma assholes and have my first pokémon stolen from me, so it was better to start off a little later… Which is what I kept telling myself as the years progressed.

In 2012, Team Plasma conducted an organized attack on the Pokémon League. That was really big news, and didn't help my cause whatsoever. The attack was shut down by the champion, a few gym leaders, and a couple trainers, but the damage had been done, and the league was shut down for a few months. Afterwards Team Plasma was allegedly disbanded, though there were rumors of multiple affiliates still running around.

2013 and 2014 were pretty quiet years. My mom's stance on letting me become a trainer still hadn't changed, however she was calmed as time went on, and more reports of ex-Plasma and Plasma affiliates being arrested became public. My chances were beginning to look up.

Then they stepped back into the sunlight.

Team Plasma came back. They had somehow completely reformed from the ground up in two years, and intended on resuming from where they left off. The worst part? They had the nerve to commit crimes in Virbank City.

Reports of various stolen pokémon came in, and it only took the gym leader and a few trainers to find out Team Plasma was behind it. This made any progress I had made towards convincing my mom to become a trainer completely null and void. It was at this point I was convinced I would never become a pokémon trainer.

That is, until later that year. When I turned fifteen, my parents told me we would be moving to Jubilife City, in the Sinnoh Region, in two months.

…

 **Chapter One:** Blank Slate

Wednesday, May 6th, 2015

1:47 PM

…

I had found that Jubilife was much nicer than I anticipated. It was much less dense than the typical Unovan city, had a lot more color (specifically green), and was definitely cleaner by a landslide. However, there was one simple fact that kept me from enjoying it fully, and it was the over abundant pokémon trainer populous. Every corner I turned there were at least five trainers. I'm not sure if it was because of the fact Jubilife City was one of the largest cities in Sinnoh, the fact it was essentially a hub connecting most other major cities, or the rather large training university located near the center of it all. It's almost as if anything that could remind me that I would never become a pokémon, was very much present. And it _sucked_.

That all changed very quickly though.

My dad was driving the two of us somewhere, he never specified, but all he told me was that it was very important. The only notable things I noticed was that we had left Jubilife and began driving south. Every question I asked was quickly averted, which definitely raised my suspicions. It wasn't until we finally pulled up to a rather small building (comparatively speaking to Jubilife buildings), that I began getting an idea of what was happening.

"Well… Here we are!" My dad motioned towards the entrance, which seemed vaguely familiar. Had I seen it in a magazine before? I couldn't quite place it.

"What… What is this place?" I asked, clearly confused. My dad only smirked. "This, Marcel, is Professor Rowan's laboratory, where adventures begin!" He sounded almost too enthusiastic, which I found very amusing.

"Sounds like you read it off a sign."

"I did." He then pointed to the sign next to the door, which said those exact words. How hadn't I noticed that? I quickly shook off the thought and asked more questions. "You're being vague, what is this really about?"

My dad couldn't help but frown. "Really? You haven't caught on?" He chuckled a little bit before sighing. "I can't really blame you though, your mother has made the thought of you becoming a trainer a distant fantasy, hasn't she?"

I froze. Had I heard him correctly? Trainer. As in. The pokémon kind? A pokémon trainer. Me. Me, a pokémon trainer. Marcel Parker, the boy who was destined to never become a pokémon trainer, becoming a pokémon trainer. The words 'pokémon trainer' seemed more and more foreign the more I repeated it in my mind. The thought was laughable. I had to be in an episode of _The Twilight Zone_ or something.

Suddenly the smell of cleaning supplies brought me back to reality. Apparently I had been so caught up in my thoughts I failed to notice the fact we were now inside the building. I blinked, and took in the surroundings. While it was small, the building seemed to extend for quite a large amount of space. Gray floor tiling, white walls lined with bookshelves, what looked like to be some sort of pokémon egg incubation chamber, a few servers with horribly disorganized wires, and a few desks with computers. There was also two doors leading into other rooms near the back of the building. My dad smiled at me, and ushered me forward, going further into the laboratory. Typing away at one of the desks was a woman with dark blue hair, who seemed to be pretty focused on her work. My dad approached her, clearing his throat.

"Are you the assistant?" My dad asked, offering her a warm smile. She seemed to jump, almost a little startled, but quickly regained her composure. "Ah, yes! You're Damien Parker, right?" The woman asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, and I believe you are... Dawn?" He seemed hesitant about her name, but she nodded happily. "Yep! Just like the stone!" She stood up, finally noticing me behind my dad. "And I assume this is your son?"

"Yeah, that's me," I said awkwardly, giving a pathetic half grin in exchange for her welcome smile. Getting a better look at her, she seemed to be a lot younger than I initially thought. Probably around twenty? Cute too. Dawn began leading us further into the lab, talking about various things I didn't quite understand with my dad, and I was left with admiring everything. The deeper we ventured, the more complex some of the machinery became, and while I had no idea what anything did, it sure was interesting to look at. She opened up one of the doors I had seen earlier, which actually led into some sort of yard. A very big one. The first thing that caught my eye was the multitudes of pokémon running around. I recognized some of the local species such as starly and bidoof, but everything else looked very foreign.

"I'd imagine a lot of these pokémon are new to you, huh?" She must have noticed the way I was staring at the giant tortoise with a tree growing from its back.

"Y-Yeah... The pokémon here are a lot different than the ones back in Unova," I said nervously. I don't know why my social skills had pretty much vanished. It may have been that I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact I could potentially become a pokémon trainer, or Dawn's pretty, dark blue eyes. I really couldn't tell. She looked around the yard until she spotted some purple monkey pokémon, which looked like it had a hand for a tail.

"Popai! Come here!" The pokémon quickly skittered towards Dawn, climbing her body to get up to her shoulder. _"Ai-Aipom!"_ It happily trilled. Dawn gave it a little scratch behind the ear before turning towards me.

"This is an aipom, a pokémon you can usually find throughout the Sinnoh region," Dawn helpfully informed. The aipom beamed up at me, and I couldn't help but smile. I took a few steps closer to get a better look at it, but to my surprise it _jumped_ onto my head with an excited squeal. I was taken off guard, but managed to not accidentally shake off the pokémon with my startled jump. It seemed to take comfort in nestling itself in my brown hair.

"Looks like you made a new friend!" My dad laughed, petting the aipom. "Now, shall we continue?"

"Of course, the professor should be around here somewhere…" Dawn continued to escort us around, looking for someone she called 'The Pokémon Professor,' but a lot of researchers had that kind of title these days. It wasn't until we came across a rather gruff looking old man feeding a pokémon I quickly recognized as my dad's druddigon, Crimson. The old man looked back at us, and his stern expression loosened after recognizing my dad. I suppose they knew each other.

"Damien!" The man's voice boomed. His voice was a lot deeper than I anticipated, and now that he was standing up straight, he gave off a very intimidating vibe. "I almost want to keep her here for another week or so, she's been very useful to my research in dragons!" He let some lighter emotion slip into his voice as he talked about Crimson.

"Heh, well I have to take her back at some point Rowan. You could always borrow some of the others though," my dad said casually.

My dad, while not a pokémon trainer anymore, still had the responsibility of taking care of his _five_ dragons. Dragons were ever present in his life, seeing as he grew up in Opelucid City, and lived in Blackthorn City in Johto for a while. While he wasn't the best, he always boasted that he could give Drayden a run for his money, maybe even Lance. I knew the latter was definitely unlikely.

Crimson slowly walked up to me, motioning her head forward. I smiled, and began petting the red, scaly horns of the druddigon, prompting what I could assume were grumbles of pleasure. For a dragon, she was a relatively friendly and tame pokémon. She soon turned to my dad and began nuzzling up to him, and after giving her a few pats, he resumed his conversation with the professor. "You do know why I'm here though, right Rowan?"

"Hmph! Of course I do!" He quickly turned to me, giving the sternest look I had ever been given. I couldn't help but feel nervous in his presence. "Your boy wants to become a pokémon trainer, am I correct? Well, that can certainly be arranged."

Once again, my thoughts were filled with nothing but incoherency. My mind tried to make up a million excuses to explain that what I had just heard didn't mean what I thought it did, but there was no denying something stated so plainly and straightforward.

"Well?" Professor Rowan raised an eyebrow, staring at me with hard eyes.

I was so caught up in my thoughts again I hadn't realized he asked a question.

"…Huh? What- What happened?" I asked rather dumbly. I could feel my face heating up with embarrassment, and the look Professor Rowan was giving me certainly didn't help.

"He asked if you truly loved pokémon," my dad said helpfully. I was very thrown off by the question, and wondered for a moment if my dad was just messing with me. The answer should have been pretty obvious.

"Well... Yeah, obviously..." I hastily said as I met the old man's gaze. His frown seemed to only harden. Probably not a great sign.

"I will ask _once_ more," Professor Rowan boomed, making me wince a little. "Do you truly love pokémon?" He certainly knew how to instill fear into others.

"Y-Yes! I do truly... I truly love pokémon! Uh, s-sir!" My voice was pathetic, but I had to show some kind of respect for the man, and reply in what I figured would be an acceptable tone. He continued to analyze me, probably judging how much of a mess I was. After what felt like an hour of silence, the professor simply grunted in what seemed to be some kind of approval, and turned towards my dad. "I have a feeling your boy will one day become a great trainer, just as you are Damien." It was my dad's turn to go red this time, and he simply held his hands behind his head.

"Me? A great trainer? You're just being modest in front of the kids," he commented airily. "So, how do we begin?"

"He'll need to sign the papers necessary, then the professor can assign him a pokédex," Dawn chirped. We all re-entered the building, and it was honestly amusing trying to see a druddigon pass through a doorway more suited for humans. After a few laughs my dad simply returned the dragon, and began walking away with the professor, leaving me with Dawn.

"So," Dawn started happily, and turned to me. "We can begin getting you registered if you'll just follow me into this room…" She began leading me into a small side room with nothing but a desk, a computer, and a camera.

"Is this a room or a broom closet?"

"Ah… You'd actually be surprised how close you are to the truth. This is my office." She used air quotes over the last word, which made me smirk a little. I pulled out a chair for myself, and sat across from Dawn while she typed away on the computer.

"How old are you?"

I was a little startled by the sudden break in silence. "Uh, fifteen. Why?"

"I'm curious," Dawn said cheekily. She was still focused on the screen. "You seemed a bit older than ten."

I couldn't help but cringe. The fact that _normal_ people started training at _ten_ was brought back upon me. And I was _fifteen_.

"Yeah… I come from Unova, and the whole Plasma issues kept me from becoming a trainer…" The statement sounded a lot more solemn than intended. "But now that I'm here in Sinnoh, it's safer for me to become a trainer! Given there aren't any Galactics running around at least."

Dawn gave a quick chuckle to that last statement, but otherwise remained focused on her work.

"Wait, _shit_ , is that still a sensitive topic here?" I quickly asked, panic beginning to rise in my voice. She quickly looked up at me and put on a bright smile.

"No, no! Don't worry about it! It's okay, a lot of people are over that! It was almost eight years ago," Dawn reassured very rapidly. "It's fine, really."

"O-Okay…" I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty.

"What kind of trainer do you plan on being?" She asked, very clearly trying to change the topic.

"Like most others, definitely gym circuit." I had always knew that was the kind of trainer I wanted to become. Being able to prove you were the best in the region was something a lot of kids strived for.

"Ah yes, the gym circuit route. Definitely leads to the most memorable battles and experiences... Although I'll tell you this, you couldn't have started at a more confusing time in the league."

"Confusing? Why's that?"

"Well," Dawn started, seemingly finishing whatever it was she was typing. "The gym circuit is going through a few changes right now. For a while, any official Pokémon League challenges had to be put on hold ever since Bertha of the Elite Four retired, but Volkner has since been promoted." Dawn rested her hand on her fist as she began recounting the events. I recognized the name Volkner. He was the electric type gym leader who was rumored to have had some kind of fling with Unova's own electric gym leader, Elesa.

"So... Who takes over Volkner's gym?"

"That's the thing. They haven't found any worthy candidates to properly take over Sunnyshore's gym. So right now, Sinnoh essentially only has seven gym leaders, meaning no new trainers can actually make it to the League."

"It should follow Unova and have more than eight..." I muttered.

"Didn't three of Unova's gyms just retire?" Dawn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well- yeah, but Marlon and Roxie were technically officially assigned before the Striaton brothers and Brycen retired! So we had ten gyms at one point."

Dawn just laughed, and slid me a piece of paper across the desk. "Here, fill out this information. Once you're done we can take your picture for your trainer card over here." She motioned towards the plain wall which had a camera facing towards it.

I filled out the registration paper which contained pretty basic information on it, and stood up against the plain wall, ready to have my picture taken.

"What happens after this?" I asked, tapping my feet on the ground. I was beginning to get excited.

"Well, your dad told us he already had the starter situation sorted out for you, so once your trainer card is printed, you just need to be given a pokédex, and you're all set!" She happily said. Her words definitely peaked my interest. "Say cheese by the way."

Once the picture was taken, she hooked up the camera to the computer, and began clicking on various things, before I heard a printer outside whirring to life.

"Did my dad mention what starter he got me?" I asked curiously, probably sounding a little over excited.

"Nope! Even if he did, I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now would I?" She gave me a quick wink before walking out of the room. After my blush faded away, I was quick to follow.

The printer ejected the laminated trainer card after a small _ding_ , and was handed to me. I stared down at the trainer card, analyzing the words that read ' _Officially Licensed Pokémon Trainer_ ', and I couldn't help but smile. The picture under those words was me grinning like an idiot, brown hair shaggy and a mess, and an overall awkward stance. But I absolutely loved it.

"So," I heard Professor Rowan's voice behind me. "You're an officially licensed trainer now. Do you know what this means for you?"

I quickly turned on my heel to face the man. "It means I can legally catch pokémon, and obtain a pokédex," I said with confidence. My answer seemed to satisfy him, as I saw the faint outline of s smirk through his beard.

"Good answer," he said sternly. He reached behind him and pulled out a red, small capsule looking device, handing it to me. "This is your pokédex. Luckily for you, it's one of the newest models. Very light and travel friendly."

I held the device in my hand, staring down and studying it. Its length was no bigger than a pen, and there was a blue button in the center.

"Pressing that blue button will release the touch screen," Professor Rowan continued. "As you may know, the pokédex is an essential tool for any pokémon trainer. It identifies any pokémon you may be unfamiliar with, contains any information regarding your own pokémon, and also has a built in GPS, able to track your location, and guide you around the Sinnoh region."

I absorbed all the information he was telling me like a sponge. As I twisted and felt the capsular device in my hands, I noticed a small circular indent on one of the tips. "What's this part?" I asked, pointing the pokédex towards him.

"That is where you insert the minimized pokéball of any pokémon you capture," he stated firmly. "Allow me to demonstrate. Damien?" He held a hand out to my dad, who smiled, but reluctantly pulled out a minimized pokéball and handed it to the professor. After inserting the ball into the circular indent, the pokédex emitted some kind of musical jingle, and the pokédex and pokéball were handed back to me. "Your starter pokémon is now registered to your trainer ID," Rowan explained.

"What does that mean? I own it legally now?" I quickly asked.

"Yes. Congratulations, you are now officially a pokémon trainer. You may open the pokédex and view the information on your starter if you wish."

I gave a big, toothy smile, and fumbled with the device in my hands until I pressed the blue button, anxious to see what my starter was. The screen popped out, and on the glass display was the picture of a pokémon I couldn't identify.

 _Gligar, the Fly-Scorpion Pokémon._

That was the information the pokédex displayed under the picture of the… The pokémon. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the picture. It was purple, it was… Purple.

It was very foreign to me.

The closest pokémon I could identify it with was a golbat, and a krabby. A krabby and golbat where breeding went horribly unchecked. Or if somebody stuffed a krabby and golbat into a blender, and made _this_ from the mixture.

The picture the pokédex provided had gligar sticking it's very large tongue out through fanged teeth, both large pincers raised in the air, and was balancing on its weird… Stinger tail. I didn't know of any other pokémon with a tail like it, so I assumed it was made using the left over krabby-golbat mixture.

"Oh, a gligar!" Dawn chirped. "That should be an interesting starter."

"I… I have no idea what it is… And definitely not what I was expecting." I couldn't help but be a little confused. Grateful, definitely, but just a little bit confused. I thought I would get at least some input on my starter pokémon. That's when I noticed the kicked Lillipup expression on my dad's face. "But I still love it any way! I'm sure we'll get along great!" I quickly added to avoid further hurting my dad's feelings, and his ever present smile returned. I turned back to the Professor, a big grin spread across my face. "What do I do now?"

"Whatever you choose to be the best course of action. Dawn tells me you plan to collect gym badges, correct?" He raised an eyebrow, curiosity seemingly in his eyes.

"That's what I've decided on for the moment," I mused. "Although I think I mainly want to experience what it's like to finally become a pokémon trainer, so anything is fine really. Except maybe like... Contests."

"Contests are fun!" Dawn interjected, a very exaggerated pout on her face. "I used to take part in a lot of them in my free time!"

I raised my hands in surrender, chuckling a little. "Okay, okay! Maybe I'll try them out at some point..." The mental image of me taking place in a contest was odd, albeit a little funny.

"Proving your strength as a pokémon trainer in the gym circuit will definitely make your training experience all the more memorable. I wish you the best of luck," Professor Rowan said, showing some kind of happiness in his voice. He turned to my dad. "I'm sure he'll make a great trainer Damien."

"Oh, I'm confident he will be... Well, ready to head back home Marcel?" My dad asked nonchalantly. "I know I'm not. Your mother is going to roast me over a fire after she finds out what I did."

I laughed, knowing very well he was right. After bidding a last farewell to Professor Rowan and Dawn, I stared down excitedly at my trainer card. I was _finally_ an official pokémon trainer. I began running down the street in my state of ecstasy, cheering as I bolted past the doorframe of the lab... Only to immediately trip on a rock and fall to the ground, face first. After spitting out some dirt, and picking out small chunks of gravel from my elbows, I began my sprint once more, and I could almost sense the laughing of both Dawn and my father behind me, as well as the cold piercing glare of the Professor.


	2. Learning Experience

…

 **Chapter Two:** Learning Experience

Wednesday, May 6th, 2015

4:52 PM

...

"You did _WHAT_!?"

My dad and I simultaneously winced at the piercing shriek of my mom. She had just found out what we had been up to, and she looked about ready to faint.

"Honey, it's completely fine, I assure you-"

"How do you know!?" My mom quickly shot, which surprised my dad. "You don't know what can happen out there! Not to mention you gave him a _poison type_! For God's sake, what went through your head?"

"I think he's more than capable of handling himself out there. He's been ready for five years! Don't you think it's time he finally explored the training world?" My dad's argument sounded more desperate than actual arguing.

"Y-Yeah, I'm definitely ready!" I quickly chimed in, my mom turning to me in surprise. "Isn't that why we moved to Sinnoh in the first place? To get away from all that Team Plasma stuff? Plus, this has been like, my dream since I was a kid!"

"Marcel please…" She hastily took a seat on the couch. "We don't know what could be out there, and I'm just worried for your safety!" The worry in her eyes managed to dishearten me quite a bit, but I managed to show a smile and reassuringly place a hand on her shoulder.

"I will call you every single day to let you know I'm doing absolutely fine," I said, knowing full well I would forget about that very quickly. "And if it's as dangerous as you make it out to be, I'll come back home. Promise." I sprinkled in a bit of innocent, childlike tones towards the end of that sentence, which would be a lie if I said it wasn't to slightly manipulate her decision. I knew she always had a soft spot for the child in me. "Please?" I softly added.

My moms worried yet stern expression faltered slightly, and she turned to my dad.

That night we went shopping, stocking up on all the essentials a pokémon trainer would need.

…

Thursday, May 7th, 2015

9:19 AM

…

"Got everything you need champ?" My dad asked, standing in the doorway of my room. I slung the new travel backpack my mom bought over my shoulder, and took one last look around.

"Yep, I triple checked my bag!" I said with confidence. "I'm pretty sure I have more than enough supplies to make it to the next city."

"That is assuming you even make it that far. You might stumble upon a ferocious pack of bidoof!" My dad laughed, giving me a hearty pat on the back. "I'm glad you're finally getting to experience what it's like to be a pokémon trainer. It's… certainly life changing. The places you'll go, the people and pokémon you'll meet…"

"You sound like one of my old teachers at school," I stated rather bluntly. "But thank you dad. I just still can't believe this is finally happening…"

"Well you better start believing it before your mother changes her mind. Come on, let's not keep the training world waiting any longer!" He began playfully pushing me out of the room, and led me to the living room where my mom was waiting for me. She was smiling, but it looked like she was going to burst into tears any second. Before any words were spoken, I locked her into a loving and tight hug.

"Thank you mom." My words were slightly muffled in her shoulder, but my genuine gratefulness was still apparent.

"You-" My moms voice broke and a shaky breath took its place. She quickly sighed and collected herself, and looked at me with her ever caring eyes. "You promise you be safe out there, and call every single day. And let me know when you get to the next city! And… and if you can, get a traveling companion! And-"

"I will mom, don't worry." I gave her a reassuring smile, which seemed to alleviate some of the worried expression in her face. "I will be safe, not be stupid about things, and always make sure to check in. I'll even send you pictures of what I'm up to, so you could see the progress I'm making!"

"Okay… Can't you just stay home for another week or two? Just get some time to-"

"Honey." My dad placed a hand on her shoulder, which was enough signal to my mom that it was a hopeless cause. She couldn't help but softly chuckle, then pressed her lips against my forehead. "I love you so much. Good luck out there."

The goodbyes were significantly more tearful after those words, and a small part of me still wanted to stay. Only a small part though. I had my mind set on becoming a pokémon trainer, and definitely wasn't going to back down on that now. After making it out of the apartment complex, I looked out upon the streets of Jubilife. They seemed different somehow. The entire world did. Now I was facing the world as an official pokémon trainer.

I kept my hand in my pocket as I began walking to the nearest park, constantly running the minimized pokéball that contained my starter in between my fingers. I had to make sure it wouldn't go anywhere, and just feeling it there gave me a sense of security. Soon I arrived at a nice grassy park, and held the pokéball out in front of me. With a click and a flash of light, my gligar now stood before me.

" _Gli?"_ It looked around confused, before fixing its gaze on me, and froze.

"Hi!" I quickly said, barely able to contain my excitement. "I'm… I'm your new trainer!" The gligar tilted its head, and stepped back when I took a step forward.

" _Gli! Gli-gah!"_ It quickly raised its pincers defensively, an angrier look appearing across its face. I then noticed I was much taller than it, and probably looked like some kind of large scary creature. I sat on the grass cross legged, and extended my hand to it. "I'm not gonna hurt you. I just want to be your friend. We'll have to be working together a lot from now on." A smile formed across my face in an attempt to seem less intimidating to the smaller creature. It lowered its pincers and the angry look faded slightly. It took a few slow steps toward me, and held out its claw. _"Gli."_

I couldn't help but smile even more, and met his claw with a light tap of my fist. "Guess this means we're officially partners now, huh?"

" _Gar-gligar-gli."_ It seemed to have a basic understanding of what I was saying, despite me having no idea what it said in return. "Yeah, sure. We should probably give you a name too..."

" _Gar?"_

"A name, y'know. So that you're different from all the other gligar out there. Any ideas?"

" _Gli-gargar."_

I really had no idea what I expected. "No, I don't think that's a very good name for you."

Gli-gargar seemed to frown, and stuck its tongue out at me. "What about… Crusader? You kinda look like this one superhero…"

" _Gar."_ Crusader said in an annoyed tone.

"Right, other people probably have similar nicknames… What about Klaw? Or Ripper? I'm sure those pincers of yours could-"

" _Gar."_ Klaw-Ripper seemed even more annoyed now.

"Well I don't think _Gar_ is a great name either. What about…"

Each name I came up with was met with the same annoyed remark which I could only assume was it shooting down my ideas. That had gone on for about ten minutes before his tone finally changed.

"Jesus I don't know, I've gone through everything I can think of! Dirtwing!?"

" _Gli?"_ He sounded a bit more intrigued.

"…Dirtwing. That's certainly a name. What do you think of it?" I didn't even know how I felt about the name, but it was something.

" _Gar, gli-gli!"_ He seemed relatively happy with it. I threw up my arms in defeat. "Sure, that works. Dirtwing it is."

…

Friday, May 15, 2015

2:21 PM

…

I had been training with Dirtwing for about a week before we ran into our first major obstacle; another trainer.

Everything up to that point had been relatively smooth sailing, and we even had some kind of routine going. Head east to Route 203, battle some of the wild pokémon near the outskirts, and head back into town when it started to get dark, staying at the local pokémon center. It worked really well for us, and Dirtwing began to trust me a little bit more each day, especially after he had learned how to use quick attack.

" _Star-lee!"_ The wild starly squawked as it flapped its wings in an attempt to shake off the sand attack. Before I could order another move it quickly flew in the opposite direction, and out of Dirtwing's range.

"Damn, it got away." I kicked over an innocent rock to vent my frustration, as it had been the only pokémon we'd seen all day. Dirtwing slowly walked up to me and yawned. _"Gli-gar."_

"Yeah I know. I guess we can use this time to have a quick lunch break though!" I quickly swung my backpack out in front of me and pulled out the convenience store sandwich I had been saving up. We both sat down on the side of a dirt path, and I held half my sandwich out to the gligar peering over my shoulder. "You like ham?"

" _Gli-gli!"_ He greedily snatched the sandwich from my hand and began munching away, and I couldn't help but chuckle. Before I could take a bite however, the sound of rapid flapping and my vision being clouded with gray feathers quickly overwhelmed me, and I fell over backwards. "What the- hey!"

" _Starr-ravia!"_ The seemingly larger starly, sandwich clutched tight in its talons, flew off with my only meal. "Dirtwing quick, use poison sti- huh?"

The bird seemingly froze in midair before crashing into the trees a few yards ahead. Confused, I ran to where it had landed to see what happened. After pushing past a few branches, I saw the pokémon my pokédex had later revealed to be a staravia. It was unconscious on the ground, and its wings were covered in frost.

"Poor thing didn't see it coming with it so occupied with your sandwich," a voice said behind me. I quickly jumped and turned around frightened. I was met with the face of an older boy who seemed very out of place. His clothes seemed too well kept and… expensive to be a trainer. His wavy brown hair stretched to the back of his neck, and seemed way too neat.

"You did this?" I asked, pointing to the staravia. The boy simply nodded, and held up a fancy looking black pokéball. It looked… important.

"I was training this pokémon in the area. It's too weak to handle my usual training partners for the moment, but it's still very powerful I'll have you know." He twirled the pokéball on his finger and made quite the show of throwing it into the air. From that ball emerged… a cone.

"…What is that." I looked down at the literal cone with a face that stood before me. It seemed to be shivering despite it being relatively warm.

" _Sno!"_ It quickly ran behind the nearest rock, only slightly peering out.

"Snorunt. Quite the rare pokémon in these parts. I trust you haven't seen one in person?" The boy raised his eyebrow, and I finally took note of his Kalosian accent. Most definitely from a rich family, probably in Lumiose City.

"I hadn't heard of one at all. Hey do you-"

"They say they bring great fortune to those who meet it. Perhaps I've blessed you by allowing you to be graced in its presence."

"Okay. Cool." My irritation was considerably growing. "Do you think that-"

"Is that your gligar?" The boy pointed behind me, where Dirtwing finally caught up. He still had his half of the mostly eaten sandwich clutched in his pincers.

"Yeah, it is. My starter actually. His name-" I was quickly cut off by the boy pushing past me, marching over to Dirtwing, and snatching the sandwich from him.

" _Gar-gligar!"_ Dirtwing protested, and snapped at the boy, just barely missing his fingers. He turned around to me, looking frustrated. "You cannot feed a pokémon such filth! A pokémon such as this needs nutritional feed specifically for them! This… ham will not provide sufficient nutrients for it to grow strong!" He threw the sandwich onto the ground, to which Dirtwing yelped and chased after it. "Such a beautiful evolution line cannot be wasted on the irresponsibility of a newbie trainer!" The boy returned his snorunt and began to storm off, but he wasn't going to get away that easily. I picked up the nearest (rather small) rock, and threw it at the back of his head.

"Just who the _fuck_ do you think you are to try and tell me how to raise my pokémon, and then call me irresponsible!?" I harshly shot. The boy quickly (and rather elegantly) turned on his heel to face me, and smiled. "You be grateful! People usually have to pay for my advice, and here I am giving it to you for free."

"What the hell are you talking about? What kind of nut jobs would pay for _your_ advice?" My confusion seemed to make him smile more, and me more irritated.

"Ah. I forget you- Unovans, correct? Of course you are. You are not as well observant of outside figures. You mostly stick to yourselves. Had you opened your eyes at least a few times in your life, you may have recognized me."

"Trust me, I think I would have remembered a face as dumb as yours."

His smile faltered for a moment to show anger, but quickly resumed to its naturally punchable state. "I'm one of the world's more renowned breeders, definitely the most famous in all of Kalos. My-"

"Look, honestly I don't give a shit about who you are, so save your breath." I glanced over to my gligar who was currently mourning over the sandwich on the ground. "Dirtwing and I challenge you to a battle!" Both my pokémon and the boy looked at me with surprise. They clearly hadn't been expecting that.

" _Gli?"_ Dirtwing sounded unsure. _"Gar, gli-gligar!"_

"Of course we can beat him. Now go," I ordered my pokémon in front of me, to which he reluctantly marched forward and took a battle stance. _"Gli…"_

"I'd listen to your pokémon if I were you." The boy shrugged, and began twirling the black pokéball once more.

"Shut up and send out your stupid cone!"

"If you insist. Noelle, show them your training." The snorunt appeared once more, this time ready for battle. "Because I'm such a gentleman, you may have the first move." The boy bowed and winked at me, which somehow made me both angry and uncomfortable at the same time.

"With pleasure. Dirtwing, use sand attack!"

" _Gligli!"_ He began to kick up a small cloud of dust around him, sending it hurling towards Noelle who tried in vain to avoid it. _"Sno, sno!"_ It began rubbing at its eyes using its tiny paws, and a determined smile came across my face. "While it's distracted, use-"

"Hail, go."

A small cloud formed above our heads, and pieces of hail began to shower the battlefield. I noticed Dirtwing getting pelted and grit my teeth. "Use quick attack!"

"Spin and use powder snow."

Dirtwing quickly charged towards Noelle, but was visibly slowed down by the hail, and soon the entire battlefield was surrounded in icy mist and snow. I couldn't see either of the combatants anywhere.

"Dirtwing!? You alright in there?" I called out to my pokémon.

" _Gar! Gligligar!"_ He faintly called back. He sounded panicked. I was at a loss at what to do. How was I expected to instruct a pokémon I didn't have a clear visual of? "Uh, _shit_. Fire a poison sting in all directions until you hit something!" That command was probably the most dangerous thing I could have possibly said, as now poison barbs were flying in all directions. "Shit, okay never mind! Stop doing that!" I quickly called, just barely ducking under a poison sting. "Try using-"

"I do grow bored of this," the boy quickly interrupted. "Noelle, use avalanche." To my horror, I witnessed as multiple icy boulders were summoned from nothing, and crashed onto the battlefield. The sound of ice shattering echoed through the route, and left me speechless. When the mist and dust finally settled, it was made clear that Noelle was the clear victor of a short lived battle. She was standing over the unconscious body of my starter. I had lost my first pokémon battle.

I returned Dirtwing to his pokéball and let what I had just done sink in. I led myself to believe I was stronger than I actually was and paid the price for it.

"I believe when one trainer beats another, the loser has to pay the victor. That won't be necessary however. I think this loss serves as quite the learning experience for you." The boy returned his pokémon, and began walking away from me, hands behind his head. He managed to walk ten feet away before I angrily began stomping after him. "Who are you!?"

"Nobody important apparently." He didn't look back at me and continued to walk away. "I'd personally be more worried about that gligar of yours."

"What do you mean?" I grabbed him by the arm and made him face me. He offered me a smile. "Trust is important, especially with your partner. I'd figure he doesn't trust you very much at the moment." He freed himself and started walking away again before finally saying, "Jay Maçon. Look me up when you have the time."

I stood in the middle of the road, looking down at my pokéball. Not only did I lose my first battle, but potentially the trust of my partner.


End file.
